We’ve heard it time and time again…patients are shouldering a significant portion of their healthcare costs and hospitals are struggling to address this shift in reimbursement. The source of poor cash flow may not be due to an inability to pay, however, but rather an inability to pay the way we choose to.
Patient bad debt is becoming a serious threat to profitability at healthcare organizations nationwide, representing an estimated $65 billion in uncollected revenues in 2010. And, while self-pay patients do account for some of this debt, insured patients who neglect to pay balances after the payer pays its portion represent the fastest growing segment of individuals with outstanding medical bills.